Our seas face a wide range of threats. Climate change, pollution, habitat and biodiversity loss are all impacting our seas; plus 90% of global fish stocks are either fully or over-exploited. All these factors combined mean that urgent action is needed to restore the health of our seas. Fish farming (aquaculture) is rapidly expanding to meet increasing demand for seafood, but if this is done badly it can also damage the environment and exacerbate these other problems.

Use the Good Fish Guide to find out which fish are the most sustainable (Green rated), and which are the least sustainable (Red rated). Make the right choice and reduce your impact – every purchase matters! Find out more about our seafood work, including how we develop our seafood ratings, plus sustainable seafood recipes and more.

Anchovy, Peruvian, anchovies

Engraulis ringens

As an oily fish, their strong flavour is used to add a kick to many dishes and sauces, including Worcestershire Sauce, and they are widely used in Mediterranean cooking. Anchovy fillets are generally packed in oil or salt and sold in jars
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or tins. Often used as a topping for pizza, caesar salads or just on toast. Also in paste or rolled and accompanied with other foods such as olives. Anchovy can also be processed into fish meal. They are small green fish with a silver stripe that gives them a bluish hue. A relative of the herring, they are a short-lived, schooling fish feeding on small fry (recently hatched fish) and plankton at the bottom of the food-chain.

Anchovy populations fluctuate largely because of environmental variability. It is important that their populations are maintained at an appropriate level because anchovy are a very important part of the food chain. Their catches need to be appropriate to maintain an ecosystem balance. Due to the last El Nino, anchovy populations are low and therefore a suite of management measures have been implemented to ensure anchovy populations can rebuild. However, there needs to be more transparency in stock assessments and quotas need to be made more appropriate for predators of anchovy.

Basa, Tra, Catfish or Vietnamese River Cobbler

Pangasius bocourti & Pangasius hypophthalmus

The group of freshwater fish known as catfish are captured from the wild or farmed for food and displayed in public aquaria dependant on the species. This farmed species natural habitat is medium to large rivers in Asian countries such as
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Vietnam, where they can grow up to 44kg.There are omnivores, feeding on a diet of other fish, vegetable matter and crustacea. Pangasius bocourti is one of the most important farmed species in Vietnam.

Pangasius farmed to Global Aquaculture Alliance BAP 3*certified production standards is a good choice to make for this farmed species. The GAA BAP 3* certification addresses a number of issues of environmental concern, the auditing of which requires farm inspections and standard enforcement. There are a number of issues of environmental concern associated with production, these include: habitat alteration; freshwater impacts; nutrient and organic pollution; escapes; interactions with local wildlife and enforcement of regulations. Pangasius is a an omnivore and as such is not heavily reliant on marine proteins and oils to form part of its diet.

Bass, seabass (Caught at sea)

Dicentrarchus labrax

Method of production — Caught at seaCapture method — Demersal otter trawlCapture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)Stock area — West of Scotland, West of Ireland and eastern part of Southwest of IrelandStock detail —

Bass, seabass (Farmed)

Dicentrarchus labrax

Can be roasted, grilled, baked or barbecued, also be steamed or poached. Good with rosemary, garlic or lemon. Seabass are thick-set fish with silvery-scales and a rapid swimming predator, prized by anglers and chefs alike.

Bream, Black or porgy or seabream

Spondyliosoma cantharus

Seabream are a group of compact, medium-sized fishes known as Sparidae. Their firm white meat is similar in taste and texture to bass and is ideal for grilling, steaming, baking and pan-frying whole. Black bream or porgy are commonly found
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in northern European seas and are commercially fished. However the bulk of the seabream in the UK market comes from imports of Mediterranean farmed gilthead bream. Black bream is a pretty inexpensive fish to eat as it's not massively popular despite the fact it's delicious. Its taste is distinctive and on the sweet side so best grilled or stuffed and baked whole (after removing its scales). Fascinating fact - Black bream all mature as females at around 20cm; but once they reach about 30cm they may change into males and all fish over 40cms are males! They lay their eggs in nests which males excavate with their tails and guard against predators.

Black seabream are vulnerable to overfishing because they change sex during their lives, they aggregate to spawn (and therefore are easier to catch) and are very picky about where they lay eggs. Look up The Black Bream Project for further details. More management is needed to protect the species. If choosing Black seabream, choose it from the Sussex IFCA district, who have implemented better management.

Bream, Gilthead (Farmed)

Sparus auratus

Seabream are a group of compact, medium-sized fishes known as Sparidae. Their firm white meat is similar in taste and texture to bass and is ideal for grilling, steaming, baking and pan-frying whole. The black bream or porgy and the red or
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blackspot bream, a deep water species, are commonly found in northern European seas and are commercially fished. However the bulk of the seabream in the UK market comes from imports of Mediterranean farmed gilthead bream. Of the two wild-caught species black bream or porgy is the more sustainable. Black bream is a pretty cheap fish to eat as it's not massively popular despite the fact it's delicious. Its taste is distinctive and on the sweet side so best grilled or stuffed and baked whole (after removing its scales). Fascinating fact - Black bream all mature as females at around 20cm; but once they reach about 30cm they may change into males and all fish over 40cms are males! They lay their eggs in nests which males excavate with their tails and guard against predators. Fact: Red seabream have a low resilience to fishing due to their being hermaphroditic (sex-changing) and slow growing and are best avoided.

Turkey is a key producer of farmed bream. Bream are generally farmed in open sea pens and are fed a diet reliant on wild fish capture. Bream farmed in this way can cause some environmental concerns. However many of these concerns are addressed by organic production standards, making organically farmed bream a good seafood choice. These concerns include pollution from both nutrients and organic matters that lead to environmental changes; escaped farmed fish; disease transfer between farmed and wild species; widespread use of chemicals and some remaining concerns surrounding enforcement and regulatory controls. Bream are carnivorous fish that require more fish in their diet than farming them actually produces, leading to a net loss of marine proteins and oils. The fish used to produce their feed cannot be assured to be sourced from a sustainable supply. Organically produced sea bream are farmed with lower stocking densities and fed more sustainable feeds and is a good seafood choice.

Brill

Scophthalmus rhombus

Sold as whole steaks and fillets and is sometimes used as an alternative to turbot. It is similar to turbot but has slightly smaller flakes and a sweeter taste. Brill belongs to a small family of left-eyed flatfish. It grows relatively
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fast and generally reaches a certain length faster (at younger ages) than flatfish, such as sole and plaice, in the same areas.

Fisheries for this species are poorly managed. Due to lack of data there is no assessment of brill populations or stock. The state of the stock is unknown although abundance is estimated to be increasing. Landings of brill derive mainly from the North Sea where it is taken as bycatch, predominantly in beam trawl fisheries for plaice and sole. These fisheries are associated with substantial damage to seabed flora and fauna and high discarding of juvenile fish. Avoid eating immature brill (less than 30cm) and during their breeding time in spring and summer.

Clam, Razor, clams

Ensis spp.

Clams are versatile shellfish which you should only eat if they are from farmed sources (e.g. Manila or American hardshell clams) or harvested from the wild (e.g. carpet or razor clams) using sustainable manual methods such as hand
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gathering. Avoid eating clams that have been harvested using illegal methods such as by electrical fishing. They can be eaten raw, boiled, baked or fried and are most popularly made into clam chowder - a brothy soup, containing potatoes and other vegetables, and often cream. Clams, like many fish, were served in restaurants on Fridays to provide an option for Catholics who abstained from eating meat on this day, as well as during important Christian periods such as Lent.

In Scotland, razor clams are also known as spoots, a reference to the jets of water they produce when rapidly burrowing into sand when exposed at low tides.

Widely distributed in intertidal waters throughout UK and temperate waters.The commercial rearing or farming of razor clams is well established in some areas of Spain, and its commercial potential is now being developed in the UK and Ireland. Avoid eating clams harvested using illegal methods such as electrical fishing. Choose clams harvested in the wild by sustainable methods such as hand-gathering only. Avoid eating undersized animals (less than 10cm) and wild clams harvested during the spawning season (May - September).

Cockle, cockles

Cerastoderma edule

Best boiled then seasoned with malt vinegar and pepper, they are often pickled but also sold in a sealed packet to eat on the go. A traditional Welsh breakfast is cockles fried with bacon and served with laver bread. Cockles have
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distinctive rounded shells that are slightly heart shaped. It is a bivalve (two identical shells) belonging to the family Cardidae meaning 'heart-shaped'. They can jump by bending and straightening the foot - the end bit- which is often coloured red and called the 'red nose'.

Choose Marine Stewardship Council-certified cockles or from well-managed inshore fisheries such as the Wash. Avoid eating them during their breeding season from March to July.

Cod, Atlantic Cod

Gadus morhua

The most popular cuts are steaks and fillets which can be poached, grilled or baked. It's easy and quick to cook and is traditionally served with parsley sauce and lemon wedges and of course, chips. Cod roe and milt or sperm is also eaten.
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Cod belongs to a family of fish known as gadoids, which includes species such as haddock, pollack, pouting and ling. The fish is brown to green with spots on the dorsal side with a distinctive lateral line, and a small 'bib' or barbel under its chin which is used to look for food.Cod produce millions of eggs in winter and spring in February to April.

There is a long term management plan in place for the recovery of the stock in the combined sea area Skagerrak, North Sea, eastern Channel and as a result it has experienced a gradual improvement in it's status over the last few years with continued increases in stock abundance reported in all areas apart from the south of the area. Although fishing mortality on the stock continues to decrease it is currently still too high.The Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG) North Sea cod fishery was certified as a responsibly managed fishery against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard in July 2017. The Norwegian NE Arctic offshore cod fishery, the Barents Sea demersal trawl cod fishery within the Norwegian and Russian EEZs and in international waters and the longline, handline and Danish seine fishery for cod in Iceland's EEZ are also certified as sustainable fisheries by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Danish and Swedish fisheries in the Eastern Baltic were also certified to the MSC standard as environmentally responsible fisheries in April and June 2011 respectively but are currently suspended.

Avoid eating cod from stocks which are depleted and where fishing is at unsustainable levels. To help reduce the impact of fishing on fish stocks where fishing mortality is too high, the marine environment, and other marine species, choose line-caught cod where available. Longlining can result in seabird bycatch so ask for fish caught using 'seabird-friendly' methods. See Fishing methods guide for more information

Cod, Pacific Cod

Gadus macrocephalus

A member of the cod family it is a moderately fast growing, short-lived species compared to other American bottom-dwelling fish. The Pacific cod fishery is reported to be well-managed with healthy stocks. Two Pacific cod fisheries in the
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Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, involving longline, trawl, pot and jig, and another in the Gulf of Alaska have been certified as environmentally responsible fisheries by the Marine Stewardship Council. Choose Pacific cod with the Blue Tick logo on the packaging. Mainly marketed fresh and frozen for human consumption and also dried or salted and smoked.

Pacific cod is fished throughout the east and west North pacific Ocean in both targeted and non-targeted fisheries, using a range of gear types, including: demersal trawl, gill net, seine and longline. The best options are the fisheries that have been certified against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard from the northeast Atlantic (Gulf of Alaska, East Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands). In other fisheries, bycatch data and bycatch specific management measures are difficult to identify, with the exception of the Russian longline fishery that is currently engaged in an effective Fishery Improvement being run by the Russian Longline Fishery Association (LFA) and the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP).

Coley, Saithe

Pollachius virens

Sometimes called coal fish, this used to be a favourite of the nation's cats before tinned pet food was developed. Now, however, top chefs and leading supermarkets have changed all that, making it a great alternative to cod. Before cooking
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coley looks an unappealing grey, but once cooked turns white and looks and tastes as good as cod - hence a great alternative! Brilliant in fish pies and cakes, it's also eaten salted. and smoked.

Coley from the stock for combined sea areas North Sea, Skagerrak, West of Scotland and Rockall, Northeast Arctic and Iceland are classified as having full reproductive capacity and are being harvested sustainably. The Norwegian fishery for saithe carried out in the Norwegian Sea, ICES Sub-areas I and II, within the Norwegian Exclusive Economic Zone is assessed as an environmentally responsible fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council. Also the Norwegian and German fisheries for North Sea coley are assessed as an environmentally responsible by the Marine Stewardship Council. The Icelandic coley fishery was certified by the MSC in September 2014. Avoid eating immature saithe below about 60 cms and during its breeding time January to March. To help reduce impact of fishing on fish stocks where fishing effort is too high (Faroes) , the marine environment, and species, choose line-caught fish where available. When buying longline-caught coley ask for fish caught using 'seabird-friendly' methods. To learn more about how fish are caught see our Fishing methods guide.

What’s a sustainability range?

The sustainability of fish can vary significantly depending on how and where it has been caught or farmed. Many single species are caught or farmed in a variety of ways and this range shows that, within a species, some sources may be more sustainable than others.

To find out specific ratings, click on the 'Show options for this fish' button under the image of the fish.

'Best choices' are rated 1 and 2 (green), 'Fish to Avoid' are rated 5 (red). Ratings 3 and 4 mean 'Think' (yellow and amber), as there are better rated alternatives.

Fish that are under review are shown with a question mark icon and no rating.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation Society to help consumers and businesses choose the most environmentally sustainable fish.

To be assessed

Seafood sources indicated as, 'To be assessed', are those that have not yet been assessed and assigned a rating or are undergoing a period
of review. These include sources previously rated by MCS for which the rating has lapsed, due to changes in the market or MCS priorities and
resources. Given that these sources are not fully assessed, the profile should not be used to infer the current sustainability of the
fishery or farmed species.

If you are interested in the sustainability of this seafood source, please let us know by emailing
ratings@mcsuk.org

Rating 1

Rating 1 (light green) is associated with the most
sustainably produced seafood.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Rating 3

Rating 3 (yellow) based on available information; these
species should probably not be considered sustainable at
this time. Areas requiring improvement in the current
production may be significant. Eat only occasionally and
check www.goodfishguide.org for specific details.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Rating 4

Rating 4 (orange) should not be considered sustainable, and
the fish is likely to have significant environmental issues
associated with its production. While it may be from a
deteriorating fishery, it may be one which has improved from
a 5 rating, and positive steps are being taken. However, MCS
would not usually recommend choosing this fish.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Red Improver

'Red improver' ratings are assigned to seafood sources which have been assessed and rated 5 (red) due to significant environmental concerns
with one or more aspects of their management, capture or production, yet credible efforts to improve these issues have been agreed through a
Fisheries or Aquaculture Improvement Project – a FIP or an AIP - and work is underway. Such projects are normally publicly listed at
www.fisheryprogress.org. MCS wants to encourage environmental improvements in fisheries and fish farms, and so does not recommend avoiding
these sources, as we normally do for seafood rated 5 (red rated).

'Best choice' fish are rated 1 and 2, Fish to Avoid are rated 5.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation Society to help businesses and consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Rating 5

Rating 5 (red) is associated with fish to be avoided on the
basis that all or most of the criteria for sustainablilty
have not been met.